MINUTES OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
5241 North Maple Avenue, M/S Thomas 43
Fresno, California 93740-8027
Office of the Academic Senate
Ext. 278-2743
FAX: 278-5745
(AS-12)
April 21, 2014
Members Excused:
O. Benavides, D. Blair, S. Lam, A. Nambiar, A.
Stratemeyer , J. Wakabayashi
Members Absent:
A. Alexandrou, L. Crask, H. Deoghare, H. Kubo, K.
Lee, S. Lin, N. O’ Brien (ASI), L. Rios, J. Wang, J.
Whiting
A meeting of the Academic Senate was called to order by Chair Williams at 4:05
p.m. in the Library Auditorium, Room 2206.
1.
Approval of the Agenda.
MSC to approve the agenda.
2.
Approval of the Minutes of 4/7/14.
MSC to approve the Minutes of 4/7/14.
3.
Communications and Announcements.
A.
2014-15 Budget.
Provost Hoff announced that Vice President Cynthia TenienteMatson (Administration) will present an overview of the 2014-15
budget during the May 5 Senate meeting. She and other
administrators will be available to answer questions about the
upcoming budget.
B.
Café Academy.
Provost Hoff announced that the final Café Academy will be held on
April 23, 2014.
C.
Faculty Searches.
Academic Senate Meeting
April 21, 2014
Page 2
Provost Hoff announced that he is currently reviewing requests
from the deans for faculty searches during the 2014-15 academic
year.
4.
Elections
1.
Chair of the Academic Senate.
Dr. Kevin Ayotte (College of Arts & Humanities) and Dr. Michael
Jenkins (Lyles College of Engineering) were nominated.
Dr. Janine Spencer (Nursing) of the Elections Committee
conducted the election.
As a result of balloting during the meeting, Dr. Kevin Ayotte was
elected Chair of the Academic Senate.
2.
Vice Chair of the Academic Senate
Dr. Thomas Holyoke (College of Social Sciences) and Dr. Michael
Jenkins (Lyles College of Engineering) were nominated.
Dr. Janine Spencer (Nursing) of the Elections Committee
conducted the election.
As a result of balloting during the meeting, Dr. Thomas Holyoke
was elected Vice Chair of the Academic Senate.
5.
New Business
No new business was introduced.
6.
Re-designation of Department of Nursing as a Proto-School.
Dr. Barakzai (Nursing) presented the rationale for re-designating the
Department of Nursing as a Proto-School.
Senator DuPont-Morales (Criminology) asked why the program should
not be re-designated as a School rather than a Proto-School. Senator
Botwin (Psychology) stated that the naming policy had been changed to
allow flexible terminology that can best reflect the culture of each
particular field. Discussion ensued.
MSC to waive second reading.
Academic Senate Meeting
April 21, 2014
Page 3
MSC to approve the re-designation of the Department of Nursing as a
Proto-School.
7.
APM 325 Policy on Retention and Tenure, APM 327 Policy on Promotion.
First Reading.
Senator Tsukimura (Chair, Personnel Committee) summarized the
proposed revisions and their rationale.
Senator Henson (English) asked if this policy will cover materials
submitted by any person/office other than the faculty candidate.
Associate Vice President Caldwell (Faculty Affairs) answered no; material
added by any entity other than the faculty member is governed by
procedures described in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Senator Kensinger (State-wide) suggested adding a footnote to clarify that
faculty may request the addition of material anytime after the closing
date of the Working Personnel Action File (WPAF). Discussion ensued.
Senator Kensinger stated that a timeline specifying the amount of time
each level in this process has to forward comments on additional
material would be helpful.
Dean Elrod (Science and Mathematics) stated that, from her experience
with the revised procedures this year, it was not clear to whom the
various review levels should address their revised comments (e.g., the
Provost? Other levels of review?). AVP Caldwell stated that clarification
will be added to the routing memo sent by the Office of Faculty Affairs to
accompany the added material.
Senator Tsukimura stated that the Personnel Committee will bring
revised language for the policies to address the concerns above for the
next Senate meeting.
This item will return on the next Agenda of the Academic Senate for
Second Reading.
8.
APM 360 Policy on Sabbatical and Difference in Pay (DIP) Leaves. First
Reading.
Senator Tsukimura presented the proposed revisions and rationale
for them. Discussion ensued.
Academic Senate Meeting
April 21, 2014
Page 4
This item will return on the next Agenda of the Academic Senate
for Second Reading.
9.
APM 640 Policy on Official Campus Stationary and Business Cards, APM
627 Policy on Publications, and APM 635 Policy on the Use of the
University Name/Logo/Seal. First Reading.
Associate Vice President Armbruster (Communications)
summarized the proposed revisions and their rationale.
Senator Holyoke (Political Science) stated his support for the
revisions.
Senator Kensinger asked why the use of the university seal on
electronic letterhead is prohibited. Bruce Whitworth (Director,
University Communications) stated that the prohibition is intended
to prevent degradation of the seal when printed and to prevent
unauthorized printing of blank letterhead. Senator Maldonado
(Philosophy) stated that University Communications could design
official electronic letterhead to address quality concerns.
Discussion ensued.
Dean Elrod stated that a majority of correspondence in her office is
conducted electronically.
This item will return on the next Agenda of the Academic Senate
for Second Reading.
The Senate adjourned at 5:07 pm.
The next scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate will be announced.
An Agenda will be distributed prior to the meeting.
Submitted by:
Kevin Ayotte
Vice Chair
Academic Senate
Approved by:
Lynn Williams
Chair
Academic Senate